History
Local TV was created in December 2006, after Oak Hill Capital entered into an agreement with The New York Times Company to purchase nine local network-affiliated television stations; on May 7, 2007, the sale was completed as one part of a larger sale of the New York Times Company's Broadcast Media Group "for approximately $575 million." At 12:01 a.m., Local TV assumed ownership of the nine television stations, located in "eight mid-sized markets."
On December 21, 2007, Tribune Company and Local TV agreed to form a "broadcast management company" to provide management services to both Tribune Company's and Local TV's stations. Also as part of the agreement, the websites for Local TV's stations were transitioned to a platform developed and managed by Tribune Interactive. The next day, December 22, 2007, Local TV announced plans to acquire eight Fox owned-and-operated stations from Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, completing that sale on July 14, 2008.
On January 6, 2009, Raycom Media announced that it would acquire the Fox affiliate (and former O&O) WBRC-TV in Birmingham, Alabama from Local TV, in exchange for its CBS affiliate WTVR-TV in Richmond, Virginia and an undisclosed cash amount (revealed to be $85 million in an FCC filing). Raycom was required to divest WTVR as a condition of its purchase of Lincoln Financial Media's stations (which included Richmond's NBC station WWBT), as Richmond did not have enough stations to legally permit a duopoly. Raycom was previously blocked from selling WTVR to Sinclair Broadcast Group. The swap also benefited Raycom, as it is based in, and already has a strong media presence in the state of Alabama.
On June 14, 2010, CBS Corporation announced that it would sell its CW station WGNT in Hampton Roads to Local TV; the station's operations would be consolidated with Local TV's existing CBS affiliate WTKR.
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